Council set to once again declare April 7 Green Shirt Day at Tuesday meeting

By Lethbridge Herald on March 21, 2025.

Herald file photo - Bernadine Boulet, alongside her daughter Mariko Boulet-Couture and husband Toby Boulet speak about Green Shirt Day recently at city hall.

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Mayor Blaine Hyggen on Tuesday will present an official business motion to city council asking that April 7 be declared Green Shirt day in honour of late city resident Logan Boulet, who succumbed to his  injuries after the deadly April 6, 2018 crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team.

Six lives were saved thanks to Boulet donating his organs.

Every year since 2019, council has made the April 7 declaration but it has to approve an exception to a resolution made on Jan. 11, 1999 that the mayor would discontinue the practice of issuing  proclamations “to avoid endorsements for a cause or program that would result in controversy in the community.”

Hyggen’s motion is one of two on the agenda of the council meeting which starts at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.

The second will be from councillor Belinda Crowson who will be asking that $3,000 be approved from council contingencies to be spent on scarves and ties in the Lethbridge tartan. The motion also calls upon City administration to work with the Lethbridge Handicraft Guild in  co-ordinating a bulk order for the scarves and ties.

The motion states that 2025 is the 25th anniversary of the Lethbridge  tartan and the guild is putting in a bulk order this year which requires that four or five dozen of each item must be ordered – more  than the guild requires.

The tartan was officially registered with the Scottish Tartan Society  in June of 2000 and in that year the City and handicraft guild also worked together to secure a bulk order of scarves and ties.

Tuesday’s consent agenda has several items – any of which can be  pulled to address separately – including a recommendation made on  March 13 by the Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee of council that monthly reporting of the Lethbridge and District Exhibition finances be changed to quarterly reporting instead.

The SPC, which consists of mayor and all members of council, voted 7-2 in favour of the resolution.

The consent agenda also includes a recommendation by the Economic and Finance SPC that council approve the 2025 budget of $283,492 for the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone. The SPC approved that motion unanimously.

Council will be also be asked to give first reading to four bylaw amendments.

One of those calls for the rezoning of an area on the westside on Rocky Mountain Boulevard to allow for a new low-density residential development. The proposed amendment would also rezone the Senator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School site and its existing sports fields from Direct Control to Public Building and Park and Recreation, which a report to council says are conventional land use designations commonly used for other school sites within the city.

“The proposed Land Use Bylaw Amendment would allow for the construction of single detached dwellings on the sites that are proposed to be rezoned to Comprehensively Planned Low Density Residential (R-CL) and single detached dwellings or two-unit dwellings (duplexes) on the site that is proposed to be rezoned to Low Density Residential(R-L),” says the report to council.

Single detached dwellings that contain secondary suites would be allowed on sites that are proposed to be rezoned to Mixed Density  Residential.

“The proposed R-M parcels are located on corner parcels with lane access to provide the best ability to accommodate the additional  off-street parking stall that is required for secondary suites,” says  the report.

“The existing DC District was adopted in 2015 to allow for the construction of the middle school that now exists along with the  adjacent sports fields and skate park. However, as the Watermark Outline Plan has now been adopted and the broader Watermark  neighbourhood is now set to commence development, it is an appropriate  time to rezone the school site and the adjacent sports fields and  skate park to conventional land use,” the report adds.

Council will also address a request to amend the River Valley Area  Development Plan to update the safe development setback line shown on  three maps within the RVADP. This plan provides direction to guide development of the Oldman River valley area within city limits.

Opportunity Lethbridge wants to start development of the 18th and 19th phases of Riverstone “and have had a geotechnical assessment conducted  by a qualified geotechncial engineer to re-establish the position of  the safe development setback line in relation to the developable area  for these two phases,” says a report to council.

Council will also hold a public hearing on an application by  Lethbridge Land to close a road – the termination point of  Rocky Mountain Blvd and Sunridge Blvd southeast of Senator Joyce Fairbairn  School. If the area is closed, it will be consolidates with adjacent  City property for the future development of the Watermark residential development.